Watch: NWT RCMP have a big new bulletproof ride

RCMP in the Northwest Territories have taken possession of a 22,000-lb, $580,000 tactical armoured vehicle unlike anything police here previously had.

Across most of Canada, RCMP have had first-generation tactical armoured vehicles – or TAVs – for 15 years or so. This one, which arrived in Yellowknife a couple of weeks ago, is a newer second-generation vehicle.

Asked what the vehicle does and how it will be used, Supt Chris Romanchych, who is NWT RCMP’s criminal operations officer, chose his words carefully.

In essence, he said, it’s a barrier. The TAV is designed to absorb gunfire or whatever else people throw at it while allowing trained response teams to get closer and meaningfully intervene.

Officers in the NWT still need to be trained to use the TAV. Its manufacturer – a Canadian firm, police said – is due in Yellowknife soon to deliver that.

But it’s ready to go if something urgent developed right now, Romanchych added.

Here are some basics we asked.

What’s it for?

“This is a ballistically protective vehicle,” said Romanchych.

“If we’re involved in a critical incident, whether that’s an active threat or an armed-and-barricaded or a hostage rescue, this part of our fleet allows us to forward-deploy resources in a safe manner that’s going to be protected from projectiles, including firearms.”

Your average officer is not about to swap their RCMP pickup truck for a TAV, which was far larger than any other vehicle on the Yellowknife detachment lot when we visited. It’s for specialist use only, such as by a territory-wide emergency response team that has grown in recent years.

“It’s not going to be used by the front-line members to do daily patrols, right?” said Romanchych.

“This thing is not going to be driving up and down the streets and showing up at people’s houses when the police are just going to take statements and follow up on their investigations. These are for those critical, high-risk incidents where a team needs to be deployed to support the front-line members.”

Even the size of the vehicle is considered a strategy in its own right by RCMP.

“The first thing is the sheer presence of it,” said Romanchych.

“When we’re looking for a peaceful resolution to a critical incident, or somebody who’s in crisis, this can be an intimidating piece of equipment that could change the trajectory of that behaviour into compliance.”

Why buy this now?

When the first-generation TAVs were produced 15 years ago, NWT RCMP did not acquire one. So why get one this time around?

Romanchych suggested that if you have to wait more than decade between opportunities to buy one of these, waiting till the 2030s or 2040s might not be an option considering recent concern about crime in the NWT.

“We could have to wait another 15 years before we see something like this again,” he said.

“We’ve seen a lot of instances across the country where tactical support is necessary to change the trajectory of the person who’s in crisis or who’s having the violent behaviour.

“This asset here is going to provide protection to the members who are going to respond to that. They’re going to be able to forward deploy into areas and scenes that would previously have been denied.”

Without listing any specific incidents, Romanchych said there had been many incidents in recent years within the NWT where the TAV could have made a difference.

Is this just for Yellowknife?

There is only one TAV coming to the Northwest Territories and it’ll be based in Yellowknife, which presents a challenge in terms of deploying it across a territory that’s more than a million square kilometres in size.

Even so, Romanchych insisted the TAV is “not a Yellowknife vehicle.”

“We see this going anywhere within the road network within the Northwest Territories,” he said.

“It’s not always unfolding and active events where something like this would be employed. There are high-risk search warrants, there are high-risk arrests. There are other situations where this piece of equipment would be utilized.”

Why not spend the money another way?

RCMP announced the TAV’s purchase online in November. (No news release was issued but police did readily agree to record an interview and demonstrate the vehicle, though Cabin Radio was prevented from filming some areas of the interior.)

Much of the public reaction to the online announcement was positive, but some residents questioned whether half a million dollars was best spent on a TAV and not other initiatives.

For example, multiple Hay River residents said restoring a canine unit to the town – which is experiencing a drug crisis – felt to them like more of a priority.

An Inuvik resident suggested spending the money on mental health and addictions supports would have been a better use of public dollars.

“This was certainly a requirement up here,” said Romanchych, asked to respond to those concerns.

He said the NWT’s growing emergency response and critical incident teams need this kind of equipment.

“They have taken the oath and they are putting themselves in harm’s way. We have an obligation, as an employer and morally, to provide them the protection that they need to get the job done,” he said.

“When I look at other emergency services – for example, our friends over at the fire department – there’s a fire truck that is maybe upwards of $3 million and it doesn’t go out every day either, right? But it’s there in case the emergency presents.”